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Monday, June 06, 2011

Ongoing efforts to make the mid-block pedestrian crossing located at the cul-de-sac'd intersection of Cambridge Rd. & Central Ave. safer, had a construction crew painting lines along the shoulder of the roadway today.

Mayor Skibitsky has emphatically stated that the current location is the safest location for the pedestrian crossing, without any expert testimony or documentation to back up his claim. Nothing exists indicating that the current location of the pedestrian light and crosswalk is safer than it would have been had it been located at the original proposed location at the intersection of Clover St. and Central Ave.

The Fact of The Matter is that additional warning signs and flashing warning lights had to be installed on Central Ave., north and south of the pedestrian crossing location and also on Clover St., around the corner from the pedestrian crossing, because motorists were disregarding the stop light while pedestrians were attempting to cross Central Ave. Motorists expect pedestrian crossings at intersections.

Nonetheless, Mayor Skibitsky will continue to add signs, lines, and flashing lights to hopefully make the pedestrian crossing INTO the "safest location" thus proving the location was not safer than the original proposed location at the intersection of Clover St. & Central Ave. where the most logical location for the light would have been. Sometimes politics trump logic and common sense. It appears that in hindsight, Mayor Skibitsky will go to the extreme to lend credibility to his non-expert opinion.

The picture below is of the concrete utility box damaged during the winter when a Westfield's DPW crew was summoned to shovel a walkway through the mound of snow that had been piled high at the cul-de-sac'd end of Cambridge Rd. Schoolchildren were forced to walk over the unshoveled sidewalk on town property. After a TFoTM posting and the Town Council being advised of the dangerous condition, town officials had the snow removed 39 days after a snow storm dumped almost 30 inches of snow on Westfield.

The crack in the new concrete top appears to have been caused by the DPW backhoe used during snow removal. Go to the following link for coverage and video of snow removal in this area: In the video the backhoe can be seen parked on top of the concrete utility box. http://07090.blogspot.com/2011/02/plowman-cometh-part-deux.html

Should the town install signage as cars enter Westfield from Clark and at Clifton Street advising them of a dangerous traffic pattern/crossing ahead,or rumble strips in the road to awaken drivers as they approach the dangerous crossing area?

No, more signage is an eyesore and rumble strips are to warn people of an impending stop. The light is not always activated so motorists are not expecting to stop all the time. What should be done is to locate the crosswalk and pedestrian light at the intersection. Motorists expect pedestrian crossings at intersections, not mid-block. That expectation alone would make the intersection crossing safer than where it is currently located. It will be interesting to see how much more signage, paint, and flashing lights are needed to make this the safest location according to the Mayor.